Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 6, 1990                   TAG: 9003061749
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                 LENGTH: Medium

STUDY: 3 MILLION HAVE LEAD POISONING

The Environmental Defense Fund said that toxic levels are found in many youngsters under 6 years of age because an estimated 2 million apartments and houses still have lead-containing paint on the walls.

The group called on Congress to impose an excise fee on lead and to require that the money go into a trust fund that would be used to rid many of the homes of the lead paint.

It has been estimated that the cost of ridding homes of lead paint could be $2,000 to $10,000 per house, according Ellen Silbergeld, a senior toxicologist for the environmental group.

A Senate committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on children's exposure to lead later this week.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, which will conduct the hearing, said lead poisoning remains "a terrible epidemic harming millions of American children."

The report by the Environmental Defense Fund called lead-containing paint the primary cause of lead poisoning to children between the ages of 6 months and 6 years.

The group cited figures from the U.S. Public Health Service in its analysis, which indicated that children in scores of cities have lead levels in their blood of more than 15 micrograms per deciliter of blood. That is the level at which the Environmental Protection Agency and many health experts believe children suffer some nerve damage.

Higher levels of lead can cause serious brain damage. But health experts say that even low levels of exposure can cause decreased intelligence, short-term memory loss and underachievement in school.